Presses Rolling For Kids New Magazines Meet Demands Of Children

April 13, 1990|By Dawn Bonker, Orange County Register

Back in the olden days, when Dick and Jane ruled the land and the lone ranger wasn't a rerun, a generation of baby boomers considered themselves among the kiddie literati if boys' life or highlights for children landed in their mailboxes.

Today their children would scoff at such slim pickings. While young readers still pore over old standards such as Boys' Life, Highlights, Jack and Jill and Humpty Dumpty's Magazine, a host of new magazines and pint-sized versions of adult publications have fattened the selection in recent years.

In addition, new magazines are created each year to meet two sets of demands - those of parents who want their children to read, and those of children who are growing increasingly sophisticated.

The result is a wide variety of imaginative and slick magazines for children, ranging from special-interest themes such as filmmaking and chess to several general-interest magazines. And many are good.

''There's a lot of quality and a lot of creative work,'' particularly with the magazines children get at home, said Don Stoll, executive director of the Educational Press Association.

There are plenty of choices - but parents have to find them first. Few children's magazines are available in bookstores or at newsstands, and even large libraries can't carry them all. A sure resource is Magazines for Children, published by the Educational Press Association of America and the International Reading Association. The guide describes 123 children's magazines and is available for $5.25 from the non-profit International Reading Association, 800 Barksdale Road, Newark, Del. 19714-8139.

Parents also can tap librarians, friends, teachers and the kids themselves when searching for a magazine that's well-done, enjoyable and age-appropriate, Stoll said.

It's helpful to remember that there are two kinds of magazines - those that children may be exposed to already at school (publications designed to mesh with studies and current events) and the home-subscription magazines.

The at-home magazine market is where publishers are trying to snag future customers by starting the leisure-reading habit early, Stoll said.

Some publishers are creating juvenile versions of their adult magazines. Sports Illustrated recently launched Sports Illustrated for Kids, and Consumer Reports publishes Penny Power. National Geographic World, published by the National Geographic Society, has been a huge success since it was introduced in 1975. Time Magazine is developing a newsweekly for children, Stoll said.

''What they're trying to do is find kids who had not traditionally read children's magazines,'' Stoll said.

Another area of growth has been in magazines tied to toys and television shows, such as ALF Magazine and DuckTales Magazine (which features Scrooge McDuck and his three nephews). While parents may prefer the advertiser-free classics such as Highlights and Cricket, children read magazines for a variety of reasons and, like adults, sometimes they just want to be entertained.

''There's certainly nothing wrong with entertaining them. I love the fact that (magazines) are something they have to look at and participate in for their entertainment. I think that's a positive thing,'' Stoll said.

Whatever magazine a parent or someone choosing a gift-subscription buys, they all have the effect of making children feel special.

''Kids like to get something in the mail that's addressed to them. Kids also like to participate in things. Probably a lot of children don't feel as empowered in today's culture as they might like to feel,'' Stoll said. ''They have a hard time making their voices heard. Every children's magazine has a letters column and they're full of wonderful letters.''